Zelenskyy said Putin had effectively “rejected” an partial ceasefire proposal hours after it was agreed.
Russia and Ukraine launched drone attacks on each other’s territory, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched around 40 drones at Ukraine overnight, hitting civilian infrastructure including a hospital.
Zelenskyy said Russia had effectively “rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire” agreed between Putin and US President Donald Trump after a lengthy phone call on Tuesday.
Putin declined to back a full 30-day ceasefire originally proposed by the US, demanding that the West halt all military aid to Kyiv before Moscow could fully implement such a deal.
Within hours of the call, Zelenskyy said there were “hits, specifically on civilian infrastructure.”
“It is these types of night-time attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal life of Ukrainians,” Zelensky said, calling for the West to continue to supply weapons to Kyiv.
On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsya said parts of the railway had been left without electricity after a Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Meanwhile, officials in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar Krai said a Ukrainian drone sparked a small fire when it hit an oil depot.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced it destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones overnight, the majority over the Kursk border region.
Despite the attacks, Moscow and Kyiv will exchange 175 prisoners on Wednesday as agreed following the phone call between Putin and Trump.
Trump put a positive spin on the call, with the White House describing it as a first step in a “movement to peace”. The original deal — which Putin declined to back fully — included a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a halt to fighting across the entire frontline.
Trump denied the Kremlin’s claim that Putin demanded an end to foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, telling Fox News on Tuesday that the pair “didn’t talk about aid.”
Zelenskyy said after the call that Ukraine is open to any proposals that lead to sustainable and just peace, adding he was seeking more details about what Putin and Trump agreed on.
He rejected Putin’s demand to halt military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine.
The Kremlin said after the call that Moscow was prepared to work with the US for a “long-term” solution. Putin added, however, that the way out of the conflict was addressing the “root causes of the crisis, and legitimate Russian security interests.”
Russia has previously demanded Ukraine pull back its troops from four regions Moscow claims it annexed, renounce any prospect of joining NATO, and sharply demilitarise — proposals that are at odds with Kyiv’s ambitions for peace.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that discussions between Moscow and Washington would continue, with fresh talks slated to begin in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz will lead the US delegation.
Additional sources • AP
